Subaru Forester Complaints (2021)

214 consumer complaints on file.

#11482973September 6, 2022
VISIBILITY:WINDSHIELD
The contact owns a 2021 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, she heard an abnormal noise and saw a crack on the upper driver’s side windshield. The contact was able to continue driving. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with needing the windshield to be replaced. The dealer referred the contact to an auto shop to have the repair completed. The windshield was replaced however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. A dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 7,000. The VIN was not available.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11482284August 31, 2022
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:ACCELERATOR PEDAL
The contact owns a 2021 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, she shifted the gear shifter into reverse(R) and the vehicle experienced unintended acceleration and lunged backward, crashing into another vehicle. Additionally, the vehicle made abnormally loud noises and was extremely hot after it was turned off. The contact did not sustain any injuries. No police report was filed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, and the dealer inspected the brake system. The dealer was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 7,000.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11481501August 27, 2022
ENGINE, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
On 08/23/2022 while driving on a four lane city street, light rain, moderate traffic, at about 35 mph, the car suddenly lost forward speed, depresssing the accelerator move rpm to over 3000, with continued loss of forward speed, until suddenly the drive train engaged and forward speed resumed. This is the fourth time this type of event has occured. A check at a Subaru dealer the next day revealed no codes in memory. Fortunately there was no heavy traffic on this road at the time because in another half hour there would have been very heavy traffic. This is very disconcerting and potentially dangerous to vehicles directly behind. Is there a problem with the Eye Sight system that triggers a sudden loss of speed when there is no vehicle close ahead?
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11480990August 24, 2022
VISIBILITY/WIPER
The windshield cracked from a minor stone impact while driving on a highway. This is the second time it cracked since purchasing in March of 2021. The first cracked windshield was replaced by the dealer under warranty since no impact indication was detected. The crack is documented in pictures and the windshield will require replacement in order to comply with local regulations. The crack location across the drivers line of sight poses a safety distraction.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11478398August 9, 2022
VISIBILITY/WIPER
A stone came off the road in Interstate 25 and hit my windshield. Within 24 hours, there was a crack halfway across. I have had the car for a year and this will be the second windshield replacement. The first one was from an impact so small that I could not see it--I thought it had just spontaneously cracked. The dealer showed me a pinhole impact (you could find it by tracing the crack with a ballpoint pen until the tip of the pend caught in the impact crater). These windshields are garbage--I have been driving since 1974 and have never seen anything like this.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11477428August 3, 2022
VISIBILITY/WIPER
Windshield crack spontaneously appeared while parked. There are no rock chips. Crack starts where the windshield wipers meet, immediately over the heated windshield wiper location. This is the same issue that Subaru recently had a class action lawsuit against them for, though that was for models up to the year 2020. Subaru so far has denied there to be an issue and states that the warranty period is up to 36,000 miles, which I have surpassed in the 17 months since I bought it brand new in 2021. There appears to be a bubble under the glass where the crack started.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11476290July 28, 2022
VISIBILITY/WIPER
A spontaneous crack in the windshield appeared across the driver's field of vision. The crack began on the lower driver's side and progressed to the middle of the windshield. It blocked my normal field of vision and caused light distortion from oncoming headlights. This problem has been documented MANY times including in a class action lawsuit for 2017 - 2020 Subaru Foresters. Yet Subaru refuses to acknowledge a problem. The windscreen was replaced by Delmarva Auto Glass, Cambridge, MD. Pictures were taken of the removed windshield.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11474021July 15, 2022
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
I believe Low Beam Head lights must be carefully inspected in low light environments, when driving at around 60mph at 2 lanes highway where you cannot use high beam lights, the sight is clear at the sides of the road but its to low down at at the speed driven if something shows up at the road it would be impossible to see and to stop at a safe distance. I believe the lights from your car ahead are too low to the ground and the visibility is dangerously short, I think that problem should be revised carefully. When driving on a highway alone at night that concern can be seen and maybe understand what I want to say and why that can cause an accident.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11473641July 13, 2022
SERVICE BRAKES, ENGINE, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
on 7/9/22 @ 6:00p I was with my wife & 2 grandsons going into a diner parking lot. as I was slowly going into a spot the car suddenly and without warning accelerated causing the car to drive over a cement parking stop, over a 1foot high cement wall, through a chain linked fence which had privacy covering, down into a 12 deep ravine. after shutting off the car my grandsons, wife & myself had to crawl out through the rear hatch. when things quieted down we realized that none of the safety features were activated (anti-collision warning, anti-collision braking) I thank God no one was hurt. Subaru needs to look into this so in the future no one ever experiences this.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
1
Deaths:
0
#11472242July 3, 2022
VISIBILITY/WIPER
Windshield started cracking for no reason from bottom left, spreading to about 22inches across to the driver side
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11470340June 21, 2022
UNKNOWN OR OTHER, VISIBILITY/WIPER
Windshield developed large L or J shaped crack from very top near roof line, down center of windshield and turns toward the Drivers side. This car was PARKED in our driveway at home when it cracked. No stone chips, nothing dropped on it as you can see in attached pictures. We will schedule a visit to Subaru dealer here in Knoxville, TN. for inspection. No warnings because vehicle was parked in our driveway.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11470302June 21, 2022
VISIBILITY/WIPER
a crack developed at the base of the windshield and spread across the windshield
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11469925June 18, 2022
AIR BAGS, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
I was coming out of my garaged ( car was facing forward) . The car seemed to hesitate as I tapped the gas pedal. I thought maybe this was because the car sensed the sides of the garage via the rear view mirror sensors. I am always careful when exiting my garage so as not to ding the rearview mirrors. I repeatedly tapped the gas lightly about three times but the car hesitated each time and did not want to seem to move forward. One last time I tapped the gas and the car bolted out of the garage jumped the curb across the street at an unexpected rapid speed. I did not have my foot on the gas pedal. The car lunged forward , crossed the street and hit the garage door and frame of the house across the street for me doing structural damage. I believe this to be unintended acceleration for which other Subaru models have experienced problems. The air bags did not deploy. Please see similar accident for another example of this same scenario with the same make model and year as my vehicle: https: //www.google.com/amp/s/www.torque net.com/1084/subar-acceleration-lawsuit-update-forester-slams-garage/amp
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11469441June 15, 2022
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Uknown. This vehicle was purchased in January of 2021. Approximately a month afterwards, the windshield had cracked and I paid out of pocket to get it replaced. Shortly after replacing the windshield, it had obtained 2 chips on the windshield and from the second chip, it cracked from the bottom left corner up towards the middle of the windshield. The frequency in which chips and cracks are occurring, especially after purchasing the vehicle brand new and shortly after replacing the windshield, is alarming. This puts my safety at risk because of its interference with visibility and Subaru Eyesight which is suppose to be a safety feature on the vehicle. This has been an ongoing problem with Subaru and their windshields. After owning the vehicle for just 18 months and having replaced the windshield already, this should not be happening in such frequency.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11469060June 13, 2022
ENGINE
The contact owned a 2021 Subaru Forester Sport. The contact stated while driving at 75 MPH, the front end of the vehicle crashed into a small deer. The air bags did not deploy. The contact veered to the side of the road. The contact's friend who was occupying the front passenger seat exited the vehicle and inspected the front end of the vehicle. The contact's friend then advised her to immediately exit the vehicle as there were flames underneath the hood of the vehicle. The contact stated while she was exiting the vehicle and letting her three dogs who were occupying the rear seats out of the vehicle, the fire expanded to the entire front end of the vehicle. The contact stated that the vehicle burned significantly. The contact was able to extinguish the fire with the assistance of the fire department. A fire department report was filed. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, where it was totaled. The contact sustained a soreness on the right knee but did not seek medical assistance. The dealer was notified of the failure but did not provide any assistance. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 20,000. The VIN was unavailable.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
Yes
Injuries:
1
Deaths:
0
#11468313June 8, 2022
VISIBILITY/WIPER
The windshield was parked in my driveway and was fine when I parked it. When I went to start the car the windshield had cracked. It was not hit with a rock or anything - just spontaneously cracked while sitting in my driveway. Vehicle is just over a year old and very low miles.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11467188June 2, 2022
VISIBILITY/WIPER
I was driving down the interstate using the IQ cruise feature. There was no road construction and a car was in front of me. A small pebble hit the bottom part of the windshield, passenger side. This was not a large rock. It was "normal" gravel that often hits the windshield during highway driving. After hearing the "ting" from the small rock, we then heard a cracking sound. Immediately a 12 inch crack appeared in the windshield. Within hours, the crack doubled in size. Two days later, two new cracks appear. These cracks are on the bottom, driver side and intersect with one another. One crack is approximately 18 inches long, the other is less than 12 inches. I now have two sets of cracks that almost span the entire width of the windshield. I have already paid to repair a chip in the middle of the windshield that occurred several months ago. I was stopped at a red light. There was a car in front of me. When the light turned green, the car in front of me threw a rock on my windshield as we began to accelerate. We were not moving fast at all, since the light had just changed to green. I was shocked to see a chip in my windshield from that incident. Prior to owning my 2021 Subaru Forester, I drove a 2010 Mazda CX-9. My Mazda had 160,000 miles when I traded it in. The Mazda's windshield was NEVER damaged in over 10 years and 160,000 miles. In contrast, I have owned my Subaru Forester for 18 months and have driven less than 19,000 miles. I have already paid to repair one chip and now need to replace the entire windshield due to cracks across both the driver and passenger sides. There appears to be a defect with the Subaru Forester windshield that makes it excessively prone to damage. There have been Subaru windshield issues in the past (unknown to me until recently). Based on my experiences, I do not believe the windshield problem has been completely resolved.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11465604May 22, 2022
VISIBILITY/WIPER
A small rock hit the top driver’s corner of the windshield and led to 2 continuous cracks which extended to the middle of the windshield.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11463467May 5, 2022
ENGINE
This is in reference to tracking # 11462054, a third incident of sudden engine power loss/deceleration. On 04/27/2022 the 2021 Subaru Premium was returned to the selling Subaru dealer to try and fix the two previously reported problems . They found no codes in memory and no problems when road tested. I left the dealer to return home, and about 10 min. after, on a two lane city street, the engine suddenly lost power while I was going about 25mph, and decelerated to about 10mph before regaining power. I drove back to the dealer and a service rep came with me for a road test of several miles, where the car operated normally. At the dealer, there was no code in memory. The mileage was about 13,135. No paperwork was provided by the dealer. How to resolve this problem???
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11462079April 25, 2022
VISIBILITY/WIPER
Used the car on Saturday, didn't get hit with a rock or a branch. When I parked the car there wasn't a crack. Woke up Sunday morning and the Windshield was cracked, it started from the bottom passenger corner up to the middle of windshield about 10-12". No trees nearby or rock damage. Taking it to Subaru today.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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